Albertsen tim 400

Leasing group ALD has reported a 20.7% year-on-year increase in net income (group share) in its quarter one results, totalling €155.5m.

In the accompanying trading update, the firm noted “very strong” used car sales, which totalled €38.2 million from 87,000 units and average per-unit profit of €439.

Leasing contract and services margins were up 1.5% to €328.1m, operating expenses increased by 1.1% and cost of risk fell by €9.1m to €8.7m.

The company said it expected the impact of the pandemic to “gradually fade” during the rest of the year “and economic conditions improve thanks to strong macroeconomic policy stimulus by governments.”

It also predicted growth for its positive funded fleet and per-unit used car sales results, along with an improvement in cost and income ratio for its new vehicle business.

“2021 started with many expectations such as the end of the sanitary crisis and the restart of economic growth, but the timing was a little slower than we all had hoped,” said chief executive officer Tim Albertsen (pictured above).

“In quarter one, many Western European countries were still under lockdowns and our industry was affected by the microchips shortage observed at global level.

“Our operating and financial performance in Q1 2021 was strong. Our remarketing tools have once again proven their efficiency and achieved an excellent performance over the quarter [and] we have already launched several projects which make us confident we will deliver our Move 2025 strategic plan.”

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